Concentrics has an experienced team of experts that are arranged in multi-disciplinary teams to partner with you on your unique research needs.

Keith Burks, CPA, MBAChairman
Mr. Keith W. Burks CPA is a Partner at Bindley Capital Partners. Mr. Burks provides operational and strategic oversight to Bindley Capital Partners investments. Mr. Burks served as an Executive Vice President and Director of Cardinal Health 100, Inc. and was responsible for its operations. He also served as the President at Bindley Western Drug Company until the acquisition by Cardinal Health in 2001. Mr. Burks serves as a Director of LDI Ltd., LLC and also serves on the Board of Guardian Pharmacy, LLC. He also serves as the Chairman of Concentrics Research LLC. Mr. Burks serves as Butler University’s Vice-Chair of the Board of Trustees and Chair of the Advisory Panel for the Butler Business Accelerator. Previously, he served as the Chairman of the Healthcare Distribution Management Association. He serves as Member of the Healthcare Advisory Board at PolicyStat LLC. Mr. Burks is a Certified Public Accountant. He holds an M.B.A. from Butler University and a B.S. from Indiana University.

Julie Aker, BS, MT (ASCP)President & Chief Executive Officer
Julie started her career in healthcare over 30 years ago in a large healthcare system in Colorado Springs. Originally from Indiana, she attended Ball State University and obtained degrees in medical technology, biology and chemistry; her MBA work was done at the University of Colorado. She worked in the clinical laboratory and grew into senior management in medical affairs with over 800 healthcare providers. She started a healthcare consulting business within the hospital system that soon grew and became a separate business unit. Julie was later recruited by Covance, a global CRO, for positions in quality assurance/regulatory affairs and in protocol services as head of the project teams in the U.S. and Switzerland for the Central Laboratory Business. In 1999, Julie was recruited to work at West Pharmaceutical Services and expanded the clinical, consulting and regulatory capabilities of the company. In 2002, she led a management buy-out with the partnership and funding from Bindley Capital Partners and started Concentrics Research. Julie frequently consults with clients on regulatory and program strategy at the Concentrics Strategy Center and attends FDA meetings and Advisory Committees with sponsors.

Paul Wissler, CPADirector, Finance and Contracts
Paul graduated with dual degrees in accounting and history from Purdue University. He began his career in public accounting with Ernst & Young. Since then Paul has had over 24 years in private industry including manufacturing, distribution and service industries. He first began his career with Concentrics when it was part of West Pharmaceutical Services in 2001 and was a member of the management team that, along with Bindley Capital Partners, LLC, purchased the company from West. Paul was instrumental in creating the policies and procedures for the newly created company. He is responsible for financial reporting and planning as well as managing the financial risks of Concentrics. In addition, he oversees contracting, security, payroll and employee benefits functions.

Sara Travis, BSDirector, Business Operations
Sara leads our project operations area with a solid background in consumer research. Sara was born and raised in Indianapolis and graduated with Honors from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business with a marketing concentration and economics minor. Sara began her research career focusing on Customer Loyalty Measurement within multiple industries including healthcare, consumer product goods and financial services. She directed global qualitative and quantitative programs and was involved in creating a client-focused technology platform for research collection and real-time reporting. The project staff in regulated healthcare market research and clinical operations report to Sara. She is also a senior consultant in the Concentrics Strategy Center and frequently consults with clients on aspects of study design and project execution.

Dr. Bill Miller, MDMedical Director
Dr. Miller has worked with Concentrics for nearly twenty years in roles of an Investigator and Medical Director. Dr. Miller obtained his M.D. at the Indiana University School of Medicine. Dr. Miller has worked on hundreds of studies and frequently consults with the project teams on the medical aspects of the studies by giving input on study design. Dr. Miller also acts as the Medical Director for Emergency Medicine at the Indiana Heart Hospital. When he’s not cheering on the Hoosiers or playing golf, Dr. Miller works as a Staff Physician in the ER department at Community Hospitals of Indianapolis.

Patricia McDermand, RNAdverse Event Monitor, Drug Safety
Trish has worked with Concentrics for nearly 20 years in the role of registered nurse, study coordinator and most frequently, as a nurse on call for adverse events along with our Investigators. She has worked on hundreds of studies with the Concentrics Center for Research and is very knowledgeable about consumer research studies.